1. Introduction (L.K. Kauranne). Scope and contents of this volume. History of soil geochemical prospecting. General principles of element distribution. Overburden of arctic and temperate regions. Soils of arctic and temperate regions. Geochemical anomalies in the overburden. 2. Glacigenic Deposits (K. Eriksson). Glaciations and interglacials. Glacial processes. Glacial tills. Morainic landforms. Glacifluvial processes. Sorted glacial sediments. Formations of sorted sediments. Conclusions. 3. Nonglacial Overburden (L.K. Kauranne). Mineral formations. Organic formations. Conclusions. 4. Soil Types (L.K. Kauranne). Soil formation. Soil differentiation. Conclusions. 5. Geochemical Dispersion in the Secondary Environment (R. Salminen). Introduction. Clastic dispersion. Chemical dispersion. Discrimination of different anomaly types. Conclusions. 6. Glacigenic Dispersion of Coarse Till Fragments (V.-P.Salonen). Introduction. Frequency distribution parameters. Dispersal trains. Transport distance distributions. Conclusions. 7. Scale of Geochemical Surveys (R. Salminen). General. Sampling material. Sampling density. Sampling grid. Regional geochemical mapping. Local scale studies. Detailed studies. Conclusions. 8. Field Methods (R. Salminen). Introduction. Required field observations. Sampling equipment. Field measurements. Conclusions. 9. Analytical Aspects (P. Noras). Introduction. Performance of analytical methods. Pretreatment of samples. Decomposition of samples. Determination of elements. Future needs. 10. Recognition of Anomaly Patterns in Regional Geochemical Investigations (N. Gustavsson). Introduction. Statistical aspects of quality control. The univariate approach to anomaly recognition. The multivariate approach. Strategies for selecting statistical procedures. 11. Examples of Geochemical Exploration. 12. Focal Aspects of Soil Geochemistry Applied in Arctic and Temperate Regions (L.K. Kauranne). The place of soil geochemistry in exploration. Principles of geochemistry. Anomalies. Scale. Sampling material. Sampling density and depth. Sample preparation and analysis. Interpretation of results. Follow-up. References. References Index. Subject Index.